Phantom // Tom -Iceman- Kazansky

Chapter 7

Friday was finally here and we -me, Hugh, Ice and Slider- decided to head over to a bar downtown and grab some drinks. We were supposed to meet in 10 minutes and I still hadn't found an outfit. My whole closet was thrown out on my floor and bed, nothing was good enough. Hugh had already shouted that we needed to get going soon and I felt like crying and screaming. Why was it so hard finding something to wear? 

After another few painfully hopeless minutes I found a pair of jeans shorts, a green crop top and a leather jacket. I quickly brushed my hair and it looked absolutely wild and crazy. I slammed my door open and ran down the steps. Rushing out the door I saw the three men waiting for me and I pulled up my jacket that had slipped down my right shoulder.

"Finally." Hugh muttered and I glared at him and we got in Iceman's car. It didn't take long before we were at the bar and we all exited the car. Ice held up the door for me and I gave him a smile before I entered the loud bar. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes invaded my senses and the four of us made our way over to the bar. We ordered our drinks and sat down by a table once we received them. We talked for a long time, drinking and having fun. Even though Maverick and his pals entered the bar half an hour later, I blocked them out as best as I could.

"Anyone wanna play pool?" Slider then asked and the others agreed. I wasn't a big fan of pool because I sucked at it, but I still accompanied them at the table. Ice and Slider were first up.

"I'm gonna get a refill, anyone else want something?" I asked and both Slider and Ice wanted another beer. I made my way over to the bar once again, ignoring Maverick and Goose sitting by a table close to the bar. I ordered three beers and handed the bartender some money before returning to the pool table Ice and Slider played at.

"Here you go." I said and handed both of them their beers. They thanked me and Iceman gave me a smile. Taking another sip of my beer I walked over to Dino who stood near and watched their game.

"What's up with you and Ice?" Dino suddenly asked and shocked I turned towards him. His gaze was fixed on their game and I  tried to read his face. But I couldn't. 

"Excuse me?" I asked confused, thinking I heard him wrong.

"Come on Helia," he said, a light smile on his face as he glanced over at me, "I know you good enough to see that something changed. You smile a lot more, you're more comfortable around them, you're not closed off. And I think it's because of Iceman."

"There's nothing going on, we just tolerate each other because we both hate Maverick." I answered and Hugh nodded unconvinced. 

"Keep telling yourself that." He muttered and I narrowed my eyes at him but he didn't pay me any mind. What was he up to? What did he know that I didn't? I kept wondering about his statement while we stood in silence again. Following Hugh's example I turned back to their game and watched as it was nearing its end. Slider was winning. I finished my beer and wondered if I should go get a refill.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is game over." Slider grinned as he shot the number 8 ball into one of the pockets. "Good game!"

"Shut up." Ice playfully said and lightly punched the shoulder of his grinning RIO.

"Well, I'll get us another round of beers." Slider replied laughing before disappearing in the crowd. Ice then turned to us with a smirk.

"Fancy a game, Phantom?" he asked. 

"Sure," I said and grabbed a cue "But I warn you; I suck."

Iceman laughed and gathered the pool balls to rack them up. He then asked if I wanted to break but I declined since I always miss and it's more embarrassing when it's the break shot. So Ice broke and succeeded with getting a striped into a pocket. Lucky piece. Though he missed the next and it was my turn. Luckily I was able to hit one of the solids but it didn't even come near a pocket. We played for a bit, I was totally failing and had only shot one of my balls into the pockets. I think Ice was on his fifth.

Ice chuckled at me as I missed another shot and the white ball went spinning the wrong way. I let out a helpless breath, "I'm giving up."

"You're doing it wrong, let me show you." he spoke up, a hint of a lopsided smile playing on his face as he walked around the table to my side. He used his foot to move my legs wider apart until they were shoulder width. He then told me to try another way to rest the cue against my right hand and how to aim at the white ball. But I could only concentrate on the feeling of having his chest pressed against my back and his hands holding mine as he helped me with the shot. The cue ball went right into the pocket. My skin felt hotter and my cheeks were burning red.

"Just like that." he mumbled in my ear before stepping away and a cold gust of wind hit my back. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I went over to shoot the white ball for the second time. But it was hard when his touch still lingered on my skin.

I lost the game, shocker. But I still had a fun time and handed over the cue to Hugh who wanted to play against Slider. But he stopped me before I brushed past him.

"Nothing between you and Ice my ass." he lowly mumbled with a shit eating grin, referring to our previous conversation. I shook my head but couldn't fight the smile on my face and stepped aside. I leaned against an empty table nearby and put down the beer Slider previously handed me. For the rest of the night  I found myself staring a bit too much at Ice and doubted what I told Hugh was true.